Percussion actuated non-electric (PAN) disrupters or dearmers are often used by military personnel, bomb squads, and other emergency service personnel in the destruction and disablement of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other bombs and/or ordnance. A typical PAN disrupter comprises a heavy duty 12-gauge shotgun barrel which can be operated remotely through the use of a robot, for example, in order to facilitate firing of the device from a safe distance. The PAN disrupter is often engaged electrically or by a shock tube. Such a PAN disrupter uses specially designed 12-gauge shotgun ammunition in conjunction with various sighting methods which predominantly use a laser sight.
Typically, laser sighting devices are either attached to or positioned adjacent to the PAN disrupter barrel in order to align the barrel with the IED. Due to the angle of the laser in relation to the centerline of the barrel, making an accurate shot can be difficult, since doing so depends upon the barrel being positioned in such a way as to precisely correspond to a point at which the laser intersects the centerline of the barrel. This level of precision is especially critical when, for example, the user is required to hit a particular spot on the IED, such as a small 9-volt battery. In addition, it is very difficult to properly locate the barrel when it has been positioned on a robot, for example, and can only be viewed from a distance or through a television camera that has been mounted on the robot.
A need therefore exists for a laser sighting device that facilitates increased shooting accuracy without requiring precise positioning of a disrupter, dearmer, or other ammunition application in relation to the laser.
The present invention satisfies these needs and provides other, related advantages.